Raising concerns about care - Speak out safely

We sign ‘Speak Out Safely’ pledge to support our staff who raise any concerns.

Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has joined the Nursing Times ‘Speak Out Safely’ campaign to reinforce the message that staff can safely raise any concerns they may have about patient care and safety.

We are fully committed to reassuring our staff that their concerns will be addressed in a transparent way and that’s why we have signed up to this national campaign, which aims to ensure NHS staff can raise any concerns they may have about patient safety without fear of reprisals.

Steps to take -

In the first instance staff, patients or relatives should raise any concerns or complaints with staff in the relevant area.

If staff, patients or relatives prefer not to speak directly to someone in the immediate area they can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison service on 0800 783 7691.

An official complaint can be made to the Patient Advice and Liaison service. View a copy of our complaints policy.

The Trust also has a ‘Whistleblowing Policy’ which outlines steps staff are encouraged to take to raise any concerns they may have about patient care.

Speak out safely -

Our support for the Speak Out Safely campaign reinforces our commitment to making sure all our staff feel able to speak up if they have any concerns about standards of care.

“We want to ensure that every patient receives the best possible care” says Cathy Winfield, Derby Teaching Hospitals’ Chief Nurse “We encourage staff to raise any concerns they may have and we already have a policy in place which supports our staff to speak out in such circumstances. We are very happy to make a public commitment to this by pledging our support to the ‘Speak Out Safely’ campaign.We want everyone to feel able to highlight wrongdoing or poor practice when they see it and we want them to be confident that their concerns will be addressed.

The Nursing Times Speak Out Safely campaign encourages NHS organisations and independent healthcare providers to develop cultures that are honest and transparent, to actively encourage staff to raise the alarm when they see poor practice, and to protect them when they do so.